Business Briefs 12-20

WASHINGTON - Post offices will be open Monday - Christmas Eve - but many will close early, the Postal Service said Wednesday.

Postal officials said that the number of people visiting post offices drops off on Christmas Eve, so the closings will allow workers to spend time with their families.

There will be normal delivery on that day, however, and Express Mail will also be delivered on Christmas Day.

Revised hours will be posted at each post office.

Exelon Nuclear plans to apply for plant license

VICTORIA - Exelon Nuclear has chosen an 11,500-acre site in Victoria County in Southeast Texas to pursue the possible construction of a nuclear power plant.

Exelon officials said Tuesday that the company will apply to the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission by September for a combined construction and operating license.

The Warrenville, Ill.-based company expects to spend $23 million on the application process. Officials said submitting the application next year will allow the company to take advantage of tax credits and federal loan guarantees contained in the 2005 Energy Policy Act.

Exelon stressed that it hasn't committed to building the plant, which would sit about 20 miles south of Victoria on U.S. Highway 77. Victoria is located about 100 miles southeast of San Antonio.

Three manufacturers plan to develop new flat panel

TOKYO - Matsushita, Hitachi and Canon are in talks to jointly develop the next generation of ultra-thin flat panels, news reports said Wednesday, in an apparent bid to catch up to Sony's lead in the new technology.

The technology, called organic light-emitting diode, or OLED, has won attention as a possible replacement for today's liquid-crystal and plasma displays.

Canon Inc. and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. are set to invest in a display-producing subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd. as part of a joint effort to develop and manufacture OLED displays, according to Japan's main business daily, The Nikkei.